What do you feed your dog?

Comments

• Troglin

  September 2010 75.75.9.164

  I've fed my dogs everything cheap -- Purina, store brands, Natures Select, etc. It was pretty much whatever my mom chose to purchase that week. Mimi used to be on Science Diet when she was living at the shelter. All of these foods caused skin issues, stomach issues, and just overall poor health for all of the dogs I've ever owned. Their poo was disgusting, and Mimi's was very colorful and very fragrant. You could smell her poo all the way from the mailbox, when it was all the way in the backyard. One of my pet sitting clients feeds her dog a veterinarian-recommended Purina food, said the vet knows best. The poor dog has awful poo, straining just to try and go potty. I felt bad for the little guy. Mimi even had skin issues so bad that people thought I was either 1) abusing/neglecting her or 2) she had a severe case of mange. I researched dog foods for about a month before I chose Evo, and I still research chemicals and whatnot. After I switched her to Evo, her coat and health has dramatically changed. My mother's dog also improved health-wise, which was great too.<br><br>I also give Mimi raw eggs, raw bones, and raw meat when I can. My family finds a raw food diet disgusting, so I don't feed raw often. XD My mom is thinking of switching her dog to Taste of the Wild because it's about 1/2 the cost of Evo. I'd switch too, but Taste of the Wild only has about 1/2 of the protein percentage of Evo, and I'm slightly fearful that a change in Mimi's diet will ruin the health benefits she's already received from Evo. <br><br>How much does Taste of the Wild cost where you are? Out here I think the largest bag is about $35. Evo is $55-60 a bag. It costs us $60 a month to feed just dry food for two dogs (35lbs and 55lbs), but I think the health benefits are worth it. I'm glad you've found TOTW to be a great change in your puppy's health.

  
  On an indefinite hiatus.
• Heartless Riku

  September 2010 207.200.116.69

  I give Rocky ham, cook corn, beans, different types of meat. One week when we ran out of dog food, we fed him all those stuff because we couldn't go to the store since my parents car broke. Afterwards when they fixed it, Rocky refused to eat dog food. He decided to cry and starve himself if didn't have ham or something else that we cooked I wish he would eat dog food again. We tried every possible way to get dog food in his system and failed.

  
• Kazuko

  September 2010 68.58.177.72

  Lyc, if he's hungry, he will eat. Make him work for his food- long long walks, etc. xD<br><br>We feed Kira Eukanuba lamb and rice puppy formula. She gets the occasional pigs ear as a treat, and rawhides to chew on, but other than that, we don't feed her much other than kibble.

  
• Hibachi

  September 2010 99.194.161.67

  @Anastasia - At our local feed stores it's $24, it's usually cheaper there for a 15 pound bag.<br><br>@Lyc - Try mixing the raw food with the dry food and slowly work your way to just dry food.<br><br>@Kaz - I would be careful with raw hides, it cut up my boyfriend's dogs intestines and killed her, my grandma's dog had the same problem but he recovered. I only give Lyla soft treats. xD
• Heartless Riku

  September 2010 207.200.116.69

  I've tried all of that for years, fails all the time! Rocky is WAY too smart! He even knows the difference between a $1, $5, and a $20, like which one is the has the highest value. o.0 My brother and I were freaked out by it.

  
• iluvdogs111

  September 2010 74.32.102.200

  We feed our dogs Premium Edge Skin & Coat. We started getting it for their itchy, dry skin. It has helped a lot, and my aunt uses it too for her golden with severe allergies. Our dogs love the taste too. It is made from salmon and vegetables. Not the cheapest in the world, but not too pricey either. <br><br>Lyc, on one epsiode of It's Me or The Dog (Victoria Stillwell) there was a picky eater and they mixed kibble with rice and vegetables. Try just a little bit of kibble at first, then gradually start decreasing the amount of rice and vegetables. He may not eat it at first, but as you start decreasing it he may realize it's his only choice. He will eat it eventaully though, I doubt he'll starve himself to death just because he didn't like the taste of kibble.

  
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• danae11

  September 2010 94.2.124.178

  RAW prey model diet or whole prey if I can manage it but not always possible with the smaller dogs. Real food in my opinion anyway I've tried a lot of different kibbles and they all caused a problem in at least one of the dogs and this hasn't in 2 years.<br><br>If raw is the only thing your dog will eat I can give you some links on how to balance it properly and make sure he has everything he needs. It's easy enough and cheaper than dog food mostly. Rice and vegetables aren't a good idea dogs can't diegest them properly they're just fillers.
• NickelbackLuver

  September 2010 174.59.253.122

  My dogs eat Iams... and I've had absolutely no problems with it. <br><br><br>Tucker has a sensitive stomach, and this was the only food we found that he could eat without getting sick. We tried everything for him before we got to Iams and it finally worked. <br><br><br>Abby eats Purina, and she's just fine as well *shrugs* I don't think you have to spend tons of money on dog food... I think it's more so proper exercise and feeding habits that will make a dog healthy. I wouldn't get the absolutely cheap stuff.. but Iams and Purina aren't incredibly cheap, and my dogs have always done well.

  All good things must come to an end. All endings will begin new good things.
  
• Hibachi

  September 2010 99.194.161.67

  The "cheap" stuff or store brand food is considered the junk food of the dog world, just like oreo cookies are the human junk food - if you look at the ingredients on the food you buy it is suppose to carry no grains, meat is suppose to be in the first few ingredients to, I also think it's different for every individual dog. My parents buy Purina and my brothers dog has an amazing soft coat but my poodle's coat is long gone because she is old and Purina can't provide her with a healthy coat. I like TOTW because no matter what breed, age, size, etc. it supports 99.9% of those dogs, I've only heard about 2 or 3 complaints.